Scubasubikers build thread
 

Ok so bought a new 2013 370z sport. After I got sound and tint installed, next order of biz is... Wipe that s**t eating 2013 grin off Josephie's face and give her a bad a** Stillen evil smile complete with fangs. This thread will encompass the removal, fit, placement of the vertical led lights (not on the stillen bumper and must be fabricated), and paint job plus completion. Stay tuned... I can only work on this stuff Thurs through Sat. In my dads shop.

Sounds great, im in!

Good call fixing your fangless Z :P

sounds like a great plan! looking forward to seeing how you integrate the lights.

So here's the front and side skirts
http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/...in/image-2.jpg

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/...in/image-1.jpg

So spent the late afternoon removing front bumper ( incomplete) so I could check stillen for fit. Going effing crazy trying to remove headlights which appears to be a pre-requisite . Going to comb the threads here for advice on thAt, but about to yank my hair out. I'm pretty smart, but there's gotta be a trick. Anyone have a manual or link for this?

Removing the front fascia is very easy. Just took mine off today. To answer your question, THE HEADLIGHTS DO NOT HAVE TO BE REMOVED. As far as a DIY goes check out the Stillen G3 DIY's. Hope this helps.

Edit: Here's a DIY: DIY - Front Bumper Removal

Just a short description of removal: remove under engine splash shield, remove pop clips just under the front of the hood, remove bolts behind fender liner (1 on each side), gently pull outward on top edge of fascia starting on the outsides and working towards the center.

Hope this helps

Checking out now THX! prefer to keep most of my hair! And I tend to be a "don't read the directions, DIY the hard way, then bitch" kinda girl. :)

Ah, yeah...already did all that and That looks only marginally like my front end. LEDs are a major hurdle and in front of the wiper fluid box/ headlights and cramed in like sardines. Managed to remove right but left with WF box in way... Frustrated.

Did get nismo spoiler installed today! So not totally irritating day... And I laugh a bit at that. I do bitch when I'm frustrated, but I understand and appreciate this part is a fun learning process. New skills and a challenge= Happy Suzanne!

you have to remove the washer fluid box to install the bumper. Stillen sells a smaller one, or you can just go without a washer.

What I got accomplished today...

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/...1362993223.jpg

Removed old wiper fluid box and installed stillen supplied new one. It's pretty cheesy: first it's not made to fit the wheel well mold so the anchor points aren't flush. Second, where they want you mount it, it is impossible to installe the back screw so I had to drill a hole and zip tie the whole thing to the frame to keep it securely fastened. Third, it doesn't have a place for the float sensor so they make you flip it upside down and zip tie that in so it fakes the system out and thinks the washer fluid is full. Lastly, and my biggest bitch here is that it doesn't seal well to the OEM neck so if you overfill the tank, it's gonna leak.

Foam insert modification...
http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/...1362993171.jpg

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/...1362993193.jpg

The Nissan foam insert doesn't fit the stillen fascia so I had to saw a chunk of foam off, then sand it down to match the left and right curvature .

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/...1362993123.jpg

Preliminary stillen bumper fitting. Initially, this did not fit well due to me having removed the under bumper splash guards and tire wind deflectors. The bumper is so flexible it needed the support from the bottom.

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/...1362993154.jpg

Pretty nice and tight for not even having any holes drilled yet or the 3 piece fascia epoxied together yet.

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/...1362993254.jpg

I did put in a couple temporary pop rivets to check hood clearance. Having an issue with the left hood latch not wanting to latch which is causing a gap. Tried to fix with the adjustment knob, but it looks like a latch issue so I guess I'll delve into that when I get back to working on this next Thurs. Next order of business...epoxy 3 piece bumper, refit, drill holes and mount. Then do research on what will actually bond to this urethane material so I can fabricate something for the OEM LEDs. If I find that nothing bonds to this crap, I'll scrap the idea and install some led strip lighting, but I REALLY want to keep the cool LEDs. LOVE the shape!

Oh and Gomer, thanks SOO much for the link. Wish I would have read that first. Coulda saved me about 3 hours of wasted time.

I LOVE the Stillen front

I'm SOOOOO JEALOUS

wow you know your stuff. Nice front bumper!

im in for updates. your build looks interesting. i had a similar idea with the 2013 fron bumber. i was gonna add the fangs to it. i have not yet gotten my next z but am in the process of finding another one.. my brother acutaly came up with the idea of adding the fangs to the 2013 when he first saw it and kinda got the idea planted in my head a few months ago...lol.. its cool to see someone else trying it first.. it will give me a good idea of how the end result will come out.. keep up the good work!!!:tup:

Form follows function! Catching some serious s**t from friends for taking a perfectly good new car with less than 500 miles and tearing it all apart.

Screw em' Its your car, make yourself happy with it! Looking good :-)

Anyone here know anyone who has experience with repair, mounding and the best way to get things to stick to urethene? I'm used to fiberglass. I can make moulds and bulild just about any curve or part with that but urethene is new to me.

the tricky part is gonna be keeping it from cracking. once you get the bumper cut to fit the fangs there is many different types of industrial adhesive you can use to atach.. being that u have done body work before im sure you should have some around.. i would use one with a slow set so this way the fiberglass doesnt heat up to much and become brittle. once it hard then use duraglass to smoth out the area where it attaches, it will also help with the bonding being that there is fiberglass mixed into the durglass.. after that use body filler to smooth and fill any imperfections.. i always use rage gold, but everyone has their preferance on body filler.. after that prep/prime/paint.. the only issue i see in the long run is cracking being that urathane has a lot more flex to it. the fiberglass part will be more rigid but i think if you mount some type if support beam on the underside of where you put the fangs to make it a little more stiff you could cut down on some of the flex and vibration..

hope this helps..:tup:

Agreed! You are sharp! cracking is the issue. I'm thinking 1 ounce fabric layered over the crack from where the fiberglass meets the urethane, sanded thinly. Maybe if it's thin enough it won't crack the paint later. It will have to be a resin, not a paste. The other issue is shrinkage from heat and time, all these compounds/ materials have diff shrinkage rates..and aging is not an option for me. Going to start with a mold of the original led area on the OEM bumper...build a FG part. THIS is going to be time consuming! Will consider your support beam idea.

i would use the mat instead if fabric. the crisscros randomness of the strands tends to be better for strength. when u mix ur resin i would use minimal MEK it will harden slower but wont get as hot and not shrink as much. plus the mat is easier to stuff into cracks saving you time once you start to apply the resin. the fabric likes to move around once you start to put the resin on.. i cant count the times iv had to hold the fabric with one hand while trying to put the resin on with the other...lol.. so frustrating.

I had two weeks after I bought mine for it to be delivered, as it was in transit, so I already had new springs, sways and wheels for it when it got here.

I drove it home from the dealership and immediately put it on jackstands and ripped it apart.

Italy--- SI...so many techniques, hard to decide. What's you're experience with FG and how did u obtain it... If u dont mind me asking? Work, play, both...


Mike---it's likely I'll get to drive my 13 in 14! LOL!

well i have been in the automotive industry for about 15 years. i used to build custom show cars and race cars. i started useing fiberglass back in about 1996 doing custom boxes amp racks etc. i have 22 different electronic certifications for automotive electronics.. i do everything from building custom steros full car rewireing stand alone computers, custom ignigtion systems, remote startes navigation etc.. i started out when i was young turning wrenches with my dad, he loved nissan and kinda turned me into a nissan nut. by 1992 i was doing steros etc for my brothers friends, by 1996 i had a little shop out of my garage and did all my buddies cars and most of the people in my school.. by 1998 i got my first job as a installer at a shop and kinda just went from there.. i started to get more and more certifications and got more and more into in depth automotive wireing. this was mostly because of doing a lot of raceing and the cars having issues with fuel delivery and things of that nature.. started to do stand alone ecus and things like that.. so basicly cars have been my life for as long as i can remember. i worked on the to make a living and when i was done with qork i was right back in them for fun. i hurt my leg real bad a few years ago and, and was down for about 2 years. so i stoped installing after that.. recently i have gotten my leg strong enough to go back to being a tec..

sorry i tend to be long winded.. there is a ton more to the story so thats the short version... so to answer ur question iv been working with fiberglass for a long time, for work,fun etc...lol..

Nice! No prob with long winded.... I can respect an opinion more with some back ground. THX for the adVI.

:tiphat:

Not really. I'm an amateur... And don't EVEN ask me about engines.. This girl is NO mechanic ;) that's what men are for !

Screw Em and make myself happy has TOTALLY been my motto lately! THX...Ahhhh, don't take that the wrong way boys! LoL!

So I have a pint of the epoxy shyt stillen recs coming (sorry can't remember the brand but let ya know). Have my filler THX Italy for the rec... Build to continue tomorrow night. Laters!

sweet.. i look forward to seeing the progress pics..:tup:

Latch issue resolved. Final fit complete, bumper drilled, three piece bumper epoxied and filled. Sanding now to 400, using red scotch brite for soMe areas in prep for paint. Fit Pretty well, had to shave off a bit here and there but nothing major. Over all not bad. Will spend my Sunday making a mold of the led lights on the OEM bumper. My dad and my body shop buddy is convinced this can't be done because of the angles. The LEDs are amazingly large too (behind the bumper and what u don't see) so finding an attractive spot they will fit is going to be hard. Probably wasting my time, but I'm a sucker for challenges...hey, it's only a day or three out of my life to see if I can make it happen right. Stillen says they want pics and my mold if it works. I said " sure, show me the money baby!" lol. Luv Those guys there. One of them thinks Nissan is changing the 370z front for 2014. I hadn't heard about this, just the nismo body changes. U boys heard this?

Your from Joplin? "Never seen i 370z in joplin" thats what ppl tell me when im in joplin for the weekend. Are you tracking your car?

Sub'd, this is awesome! I wish to get rid of the ugly 2013 whale-mouth bumper...